Brazilian man so engrossed in his mobile phone - he fails to notice that the bar he's in is being held up by an armed robber!

You see some strange things on CCTV these days - when the event is over and you have all the time in the world to review the footage afterwards.

However, up there with the strangest of them is this guy, in a bar in Nova Serrana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Footage (which you can see below) captures a man in the bar waving a gun around - as customers drop to the floor like flies around him. However, our guy, named locally as Jose Carlos de Almeida, is so engrossed in whatever cat memes he’s been tagged in on Facebook - he appears to be completely oblivious to what’s taking place.

Either that, or he needs a wheelbarrow to carry his massive balls around with him!

Anyway, the robbery continues as expected - with the robber taking all the cash he can get his hands on. Jose, unperturbed, doesn’t even glance up from his phone… The thief then walks out and is believed to have fled the scene on a motorbike.

Suddenly, the penny drops for Jose and he realises that everyone else is lying on the floor as he looks around, shocked.

He said: "I really didn't see anything. The music was loud, and I didn't realise the bar was being robbed. It's a good thing I didn't see because I don't know how I would've reacted. It's also good that the thief didn't steal my phone, or my motorbike which was just outside."

He told reporters that he had been using a messaging service at the time. Whatever was going on in the group chat - it was clearly enthralling!

Beatriz Maria dos Santos Barbosa, who owns the bar, said the man shouted “Robbery!” as he entered the bar, which is what prompted 99% of their customers to hit the deck.

In response to some claims that Jose may have been an ‘inside man’ - hence his calm reaction - Beatriz said that he is “a hard-working man”, who “had nothing to do with the robbery”.

Police have launched an investigation into the offence, but, as yet, no arrests have been made.

Featured Image Credit: www.diariocorreo.pe

Have you seen that we now stock UNDER ARMOUR Patrol Boots and Tactical Duty Jackets? The boots also come with a FREE pair of TREKKER socks - and it really is like you're wearing slippers to work! Why not treat yourself on payday?

Police Officers on a routine patrol in Wrexham were somewhat shocked to see what they thought was a human foot hanging from the boot of a car.

They made the 'ghoulish' discovery hanging out of the back of a convertible blue Audi A4 on Thursday night. Thankfully for them - and the amount of paperwork they’d have to fill in - it turned out to be a Halloween prop.

But it was so realistic, North Wales Police Officer Thomas Hough tweeted @UK Cop Humour about the fright it gave him and his colleagues.

He said: "We love a practical joke in the police… this one didn't half give colleagues a fright when they come across this car!"

At first glance, they Officers thought they were looking at bare human foot and part of a black trouser leg trapped in the trunk.

The incident formed part of a busy night for Officers in Wrexham, with PC Hough stating there were a number of incidents that included a domestic assault caught on CCTV in the town centre and a drink drive arrest.

Speaking of feet in boots... (shameless link!) have you seen the SUPERB offer we have on these UNDER ARMOUR Patrol Boots? They come with a FREE pair of TREKKER socks - and it really is like you're wearing slippers to work! Why not treat yourself this payday?

Criminals have had it easy for years. If you want to know how to pull off the perfect crime, just watch Luther, Line of Duty or any of the million other cop shows that tell you, in exact scientific detail, how the police are going to investigate.

But, exactly how much of it is bonafide? Real detectives certainly don't run headlong into any fight without backup. They can't really trace your call by keeping you talking for 30 seconds, can they? They don't have big breakthroughs every night in the mortuary... at least, that's what we thought.

Helping DigitalSpy debunk the clichés is former Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton. Having served for 30 years in three different forces – including time as the Head of Intelligence for West Yorkshire Police – he has worked on 56 separate murder investigations, his cases including Levi Bellfield, the man who killed Milly Dowler, and Delroy Grant, the infamous 'Nightstalker' serial rapist.

It's the kind of CV that makes him one of the world's leading crime experts – and the kind that makes you feel really stupid for having to ask him about TJ Hooker…

1. The Lone Wolf

First up, a classic – the idea that the best detectives work alone. Usually following a heavily armed bad guy to an abandoned factory/quarry/building site, the lone-wolf cop doesn't have any choice but to rush in on their own because they haven't got time for backup, dammit!

"Yeah, that happens," chuckles Sutton. "If there's no backup there then coppers will tend to run in on their own, for sure. The reality is that they'll generally tell someone about it though. The classic cliché thing where you've got someone ploughing a lone furrow does happen, a lot, but [on TV] they never seem to tell anyone what they're doing. That's wrong."

Sutton says TV has it pretty much spot-on when it comes to individual acts of mad heroics – as long as whatever they're doing is still within the law. Sort of.

"My son's a PC in London now and we've had 'the conversation' about it. There's an old rule of thumb that someone told me when I was a young DI on my first murder… they said, 'If you have to get a piece of evidence by unlawful means, then you've still got that piece of evidence and the court might let it in. If you don't do it, you won't get the evidence and the court will never know about it.' I'm not sure how true that still is, and I'm not sure too many police officers now would want to risk their careers, but it definitely always used to be the case."

Status: CONFIRMED

2. Good Cop, Bad Cop

We've all seen it: one detective acts all chummy before swapping with an angry bulldog in a loosened tie who starts throwing chairs around the room. Surely that's a load of guff?

"I have to say there is a degree of truth in the good cop, bad cop routine," laughs Sutton. "Maybe not in the kind of timeframe that you usually see on TV though, where it's done virtually within the same interview, in the same scene.

"How it works in practice is when one detective has had a, shall we say 'confrontational' interview, it's a common tactic to give the next one to somebody different – who will deliberately take a much softer line. So it's not quite as obvious as it is on TV but that tactic is used – and often quite effectively."

Does that mean the "confrontational interview" also starts with someone making a big show of switching off the tape recorder (so Batman can come in from the shadows)?

"No that doesn't happen." Phew. "Not these days anyway... Anybody who's being interviewed for anything half-decent has a solicitor sitting next to them now, so it couldn't happen. The only times it really happens now is where the suspect wants to say something off the record – quite often because they don't want to be seen as a grass."

Status: CONFIRMED

3. The Phone Trace

If you're a creepy serial killer you're probably going to want to make a few threatening monologues over the phone at some point – but you'll be fine as long as you keep the call under 30 seconds, right?

Correct! It turns out the police really do have a bit of weird analogue call-tracing tech that revolves around keeping bad guys on the line for an implausibly long time!

"It's actually much easier if we know their phone number beforehand so the communications company can monitor it live for us via the transmitters," says Sutton. "That being said, there is other equipment that we use, and I don't know how well known it is to the public.

"The magic box that tells you where a phone is just because you're driving close to it actually does exist. So the longer you can keep someone talking, the more chance you've got of being able to use various bits of equipment to locate them.

"If you're somewhere in Suffolk, the phone transmitters will probably only tell us which village you're in. If you're in central London there's so many transmitters around that we can probably narrow it down to a smaller area, but the problem then becomes the population density – and we could still have hundreds of people within our search area. But using the special equipment instead, and by keeping you on the line while we use it, we can be really very accurate indeed."

Status: CONFIRMED

4. Commandeering a vehicle

Surely this one's easy? Real police chases are handled by precision drivers – not by a local bobby who jumps on someone else's motorbike and speeds off down the high street.

"I've never done it, but it does happen," says Sutton. "It happened a lot back in the old days, especially when police officers used to patrol on foot. Black taxicabs in London were very good for that.

"There was always a bond between cab drivers and the police. They were the eyes and ears of the force. They'd often tell you things that had gone on. If there was a black cab driver nearby he'd often pull you aside and say, y'know, 'It was that bloke over there.' But the actual commandeering of public vehicles definitely does still happen on the streets."

Status: CONFIRMED

5. The Mortuary Breakthrough

Pfft, TV shows eh? Just because it's boring to have the detectives talking about a case over a desk, they have to throw in a few scenes where everyone stands over a naked woman in the mortuary – which is usually where the case gets cracked. Gratuitous nudity aside, this is another cliché that's actually accurate.

"Oh God yeah," winces Sutton. "I've been to far more post-mortems than is healthy for one lifetime. The thing is, the way that science has evolved, post-mortems take forever. I've had them before that have gone over two full days – but certainly you're looking at a minimum of four to five hours.

"At that stage of a murder investigation, when you've got some of your other team around you, y'know, it's all fair game to discuss anything. It's a very weird and a very bleak mentality that you have to have. You're just at work, y'know?

"And I have to say, the conversations might not always be about work either. There's quite a lot of dark humour that goes on at post-mortems. It's a coping mechanism I think. If you kind of took a step back and looked at what was going on, it probably would get to you – but you keep going so it doesn't."

Status: CONFIRMED

6. The One Cop Bar

The only place better than the morgue is the pub – the one place where every detective goes after work to discuss the intimate details of their cases with each other (and have rowdy Irish wakes). No one cares about anyone overhearing anything sensitive because everyone in there is a cop – even the guy behind the bar.

"Yeah, definitely," laughs Sutton, now finding it hilarious. "A lot of stuff gets solved in the bar. It's not quite as relevant now because the licensing laws have changed, but quite often pubs would be happy for the local police to stay in long after they'd closed.

"There was one place back in the '80s that we used to go to, and the landlady would just give us a notepad and a piece of paper and she'd go upstairs – then we'd stay and write down everything that we drank."

Which obviously means all detectives are compulsive coffee drinkers during the day too?

"Nope, that one's actually not true," says Sutton, finally.

"It's usually tea."

Status: CONFIRMED

A version of this article first appeared on DigitalSpy and you can view their article in its entirety by clicking here!

They use a lot of formal acronyms – and there’s a few that are a bit less PC

They learn them by heart, pick them up from older coppers, accept them from senior officers and if you ever listened to a Police radio when you could still pick it up on your old transistor – you may have even heard a few.

Of course, we can’t listen to Police radios anymore because the airwave system is uncrackable. However, the acronyms remain and we can sometimes hear them used on TV cop shows which try to be authentic-sounding.

The vast majority of them are merely a shorthand way of explaining important information, roles, incidents or titles.

But occasionally, like a lot of organisations who deal with the public, they create special codewords which are, shall we say, less PC than a PC…

Here’s our guide to Police slang. You’ll find the official terms at the top – and a few unofficial phrases at the end of the article.

RTC – Road Traffic Collision, which used to be RTA (Road Traffic Accident) until, as any Hot Fuzz film fan knows, vocab guidelines state Police no longer refer to such incidents as ‘accidents’, they’re now collisions. Because ‘accident’ implies there’s nobody to blame.

Misper – a Missing Person (“Sarge, is Lord Lucan still a misper?”)

TWOC – Taking Without Owner’s Consent (“Ere, bey, have you been done for twokking cars again?”)

PSU – Police Support Unit is a team of officers trained in public order and are used in major incidents, support other officers and bashing in doors with the Big Red Key (see later). In Devon and Cornwall they are now called the FSG – Force Support Group.

FLO – Family Liaison Officer. These are officers who work closely with victims of serious crimes, such as the family of murder victims, or tragic deaths such as fatal road collisions.

TK – Telephone Kiosk. One officer admitted that in their early days on the job they were told to attend an incident at a “TK at Royal Parade”. They spent several minutes interviewing staff at TK Maxx before being told over the radio they were in the wrong place.

PS – Personal Radio

CHIS – Covert Human Intelligence Source. Alternatively known in court as “an informant”. Known in common parlance as a “grass” or “snitch” who may eventually come to a violent end. Hence the phrase “snitches get stitches”.

POLAC – Police Accident. Usually a road accident involving a Police vehicle. This will inevitably lead to the aforementioned driver having to purchase a large quantity of cakes for his laughing colleagues back at the station. (“Sorry Sarge, I think I may have reversed the riot van into your new Audi”)

“Sarge, I’ve put a slight dent in the bumper…”

OIC – Officer In Case (“Right, Constable Crap-driver, you’re now the OIC on this abducted-by-alien complaint”)

SIO – Senior Investigating Officer

POLSA – Police Search Advisor – a specially-trained officer who advises on the best approach to carry out searches in Misper cases or suspected murders where bodies are yet to be found.

RJ – Restorative Justice. (“Well Sarge, could he at least repaint the fence he’s drawn a k**b on? The victim is okay with some RJ”)

FIM/CIM – Force/Critical Incident Manager. Invariably an Inspector rank officer who oversees all the live “critical” incidents going on in the area and makes the decisions which ensure these situations don’t get any worse.

NFP – Normal For Plymouth (“Sarge, we found the naked bloke wearing a tutu, off his head on mushrooms and mumbling something about ‘Green Army’.” “Yes lad, that’s NFP”.)

NFA – No Further Action. When Police either cannot get the evidence to convince the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) to go for a charge, the case is dropped and the person is told there will be NFA

RUI – Released Under Investigation. Since bail has been hurled out the door by the Government, people are told they are not on bail, but they are RUI and can be arrested at any moment as inquiries continue. This has been sold to the public by the Government as a good thing. No-one in the Police thinks it is a good thing.

NPAS – National Police Air Service. As part of a cost-cutting exercise Police helicopters were taken out of Police force’s control and a single body was created to cover the country.

FPN – Fixed Penalty Notice. Effectively a fine handed to you by Police.

AIO – All In Order (“Sarge, I’ve check the house where the Demis Roussos was being played louder than a jet engine. It’s AIO”)

Click the image to see them in our store!

WOA – Words Of Advice (“Sarge, we pulled the driver over who had a cow in the back seat of his Land Rover and, as it’s NFP we’ve given him WOA”)

UNIFI – Unified Police Intelligence. The Police’s crime, intelligence and custody computer database. It sends officers mad trying to get it to work. Imagine Windows 89 but on its last legs.

NOIP – Notice of Intended Prosecution. Effectively a note which tells you your future may well involve a court visit.

SOCA – Serious and Organised Crime. As opposed to Jocular and Erratic Crime. This is the environment where you encounter men called Dave with broken noses and leather jackets who keep money in large rolls, run a scrap metal merchants and can get you a shooter to go with a kilo of coke.

SOCIT – Serious and Organised Crime Investigation Team. Where Detectives go when they want to be their childhood heroes, Bodie and Doyle.

SOCO – Scene of Crime Officer (“Sarge, can you get CIS down here for forensics?” “No Constable Savage, this isn’t CSI Miami – in Plymouth we call them SOCOs”)

SODAIT – Sexual Offences and Domestic Abuse Investigation Team.

SOPO – Sex Offenders Prevention Order. An order by the court which attempts to keep sex offenders from committing sex offences. Considered by many Plymouth people to be less effective than a cigar cutter.

SOR – Sex Offenders Register. You can end up on this list from doing everything from patting a person of the opposite sex on the bottom against their wishes to the serial rape of children.

ASBO – Antisocial Behaviour Order. Considered by some to be a badge of honour, although not an ideal addition to your CV.

ABE – Achieving Best Evidence. Where victims of serious sexual assaults are video interviewed for their very first statement, which can then be used in court.

BCU – Basic Command Unit is the largest unit into which territorial British Police forces are divided. Plymouth is populated enough to be an entire BCU. Remarkably, the entire county of Cornwall is just one BCU. In the same way that it’s one sandwich short of a picnic.

D&D – Drunk and Disorderly, not Dungeons and Dragons.

Section 165 – No insurance seizure. Where a vehicle is seized by Police and may well be crushed because the driver had not insurance.

Section 59 – Antisocial behaviour order vehicle seizure. Where the owner has previously been formerly warned for their antisocial driving and yet has continued to drive like a prat, and thus lose their vehicle.

PSU – Public order Support Unit. Usually a Police van/people carrier which everyone outside of the Police force call a “riot van”. Usually has a pack of Haribo in between the two front seats.

MOE – Method of Entry. (“Sarge, we’re going to use the chainsaw through the front door as our MOE”.)

“Yes love, I have an enormous chopper.”

AP – Aggrieved Person. The injured party. The victim.

ARV – Armed Response Vehicle. A vehicle with armed response officers (and their guns). Often heavily ladened with “Gucci gear” (Police-style equipment which is not standard issue gear and is instead purchased by ARV officers from numerous US-type websites because it looks cool/imposing/flash/intimidating)

Hooly Bar – a large iron bar with a large spike at the end. Can be used for smashing windows and distracting occupants while another officer uses the Big Red Key to gain entry or as a ‘jemmy’ to break open a door.

Refs – Food. (“Sarge, I’ve been on scene guard for six hours. Any chance of some Refs”)

Spray – Captor canister incapacitant. AKA pepper spray.

Stabby – A protective vest worn by officers in the hope it will minimise the risk of being stabbed.

Lid – A Police hat. Because you can’t just call a hat, a ‘hat’.

Of course, occasionally, unexpected phrases can also turn up in the most unlikely of places:

For many years Charles Cross Police station went under the code “EC” while Crownhill had the code EL which stems from the old alpha area codes with Plymouth being the E division and the next letter being the first or last letter of the station.

However, a few years back it was decided to change all the codes, such as the Criminal Investigation Department which went by the well-known name CID. That became the Local Investigation Team – a LIT. And thus Charles Cross unexpectedly enjoyed having its very own CLIT.

Female detectives at that department remarked that on the first day of the changeover, none of the male officers turned up for work in the office… because they couldn’t find it.

Some fun stuff:

While the official list of acronyms runs to an entire booklet with more than 300 terms, there are some acronyms and policing phrases which have eased their way into common Police parlance and very few of them are half as polite or politically correct. However, we must keep in mind, policing can be a dark job on occasions and dark humour grows in such places.

FUBAR BUNDY – F***** Up Beyond Any Recovery But Unfortunately Not Dead Yet. (“Sarge, that scrote who’s been battering old ladies and mugging them has come off his stolen scooter. He’s FUBAR BUNDY.”)

Jeremy Kyle referral – A person of the like one would expect to appear on a popular daytime TV show where various wastrels, ne’er do wells and vagabonds are given DNA checks but not dental treatment.

GTP – Good To Police. A sympathetic or welcoming shop/café/organisation/resident. Such as a resident who offers a cup of tea to officers who are on scene guard in the pouring rain.

Furry Exocet – a Police Dog (see also, Land Shark and Hairy Exocet)

Click here to visit our store and see our full range of merchandise!

ATNS – like ASNT, but it’s where the likelihood of anyone being around is less than zero, so Area Traced, No Search.

Gidgy – A deployment considered by officers to be a “piece of p***”. A job where there is the pretence of working, but being able to do so without to actually do anything. A bit like SPLB duty – Shuffle Paper, Look Busy.

BINGO seat – Bollocks I’m Not Getting Out seat. The back seat in the PSU carrier.

BONGO – Books On, Never Goes Out. A lazy cop.

LOB – Load of Bollocks. Often used when describing a false or grossly exaggerated call from a MOP – Member of Public. (“Sarge, you were asking about that kidnap, serial killer, alien invasion job… it’s a LOB, close the log.”)

GDP or WDP – Greater Dorset Police or West Dorset Police. A term used to describe Devon and Cornwall Police since so many of its departments have now been taken over by Dorset Police. A term often used by other neighbouring forces when they wish to chide, josh or ridicule Devon and Cornwall Police officers.

A Unit – A person who is considered quite muscular and may cause officers a little bit of trouble.

A Big Unit – A big person, who will definitely cause officers a bit of trouble if he chooses to.

FBU – F****** Big Unit. An awfully big person. (“Sarge, can we have a few more officers please. This bloke you’ve told us to arrest said he won’t come out of the pub and he’s an FBU”)

DODI – Dead One Did It. Used in reference to single vehicle fatal RTCs where there is only one occupant of the vehicle in question.

DILLIGAF – Do I Look Like I Give A F***? A response offered when a MOP indignantly asks for the officer’s name. (“Certainly Sir, I’m Sgt Dilligaf, now would you please blow into this bag. No, this one, not that second one you can see…”)

FLUB – F***ing Lazy Useless B***ard. A term used out of earshot for a very disagreeable and inept officer, who is also possibly corrupt.

NFI – No F***ing Interest (“Sarge, I’ve spoken to the neighbours about it and they’ve NFI”)

PLONK – Person of Little Or No Knowledge. (“Sarge, we’ve spoken to the AP, they’re a PLONK)

RAT- Really Adept at Traffic Law (“Sarge, I’ve got a RAT here who’s convinced driving at 60mph in a 30mph is a Human Right”.)

The final synonym offered from an anonymous source was: “When asked for directions, you point at the hat and cap badge and advise them “It says E II R, not A to Z”.

There’s probably hundreds of others, both legitimate and illegitimate. Comment below to tell us any you’ve heard.

1. Look closely at the signs on the road and how they show you the speed limit. The number indicated is the maximum speed you can travel. Whether you’re on foot, on a bike or in a car.

2. Try to locate your car’s speedometer. You normally find it somewhere in front of the driver’s seat, on the dashboard. It has an arrow pointing to the number that reflects the car’s speed. On newer cars, the speed is sometimes displayed digitally, with numbers.

3. This last point is also the hardest. Adjust your speed according to the number shown on the road sign. The Police cannot fine you if you do not drive over this number.

Strangely, there seem to be surprisingly too few who are aware of this simple yet genius trick. Best of all, if you stick to it, you’ll never have to pay a speeding fine EVER again! Even better — the road will become much safer for everyone!

Share this smart trick with everyone you know so that they learn about it, too!

“Hi UKCH, do you post anonymously? I need a bit of a rant but I don’t want anyone to know who I am for obvious reasons…

This week I worked 73 hours. During one of these shifts, I was chasing two shoplifters when they suddenly split up in different directions. I stopped on a street corner to catch my breath, knowing I wasn’t going to catch either of them.

Whilst standing there, a fourteen year old girl came up behind me and suddenly slapped me across the back of the head. Both she and her equally chavvy friend both found this hilarious and started to laugh.

NEW: Under Armour Valsetz RTS 1.5 Boots now stocked in the UKCH Store. Click to view!

Struggling to contain my anger, I obviously confronted her and didn’t try and hide my disgust. She didn’t care in the slightest as I tore strips off her. I honestly didn’t bother arresting her as I knew that Custody just wouldn’t want to know.

Then, as I was walking away, she threw homophobic abuse at me. A member of the public saw and heard this and was extremely angry and told this girl how disrespectful she was and how ashamed she should be! Still, she just didn’t care. I had another go at her and sent her on her way. If I had taken her to Custody, I would have then had to sit with her while her Appropriate Adult arrived (apparently we don’t like to have juveniles in custody!) and I was honestly just far too busy for that to happen. This was only the start of my week…

I also dealt with a suspect who assaulted my colleague and was equally violent towards me. It’s all good though – he got NFA’d!

I then spent two days completing four charge files, only to have one thrown back at me saying CPS will be discontinuing it as certain info was not disclosed even though it was not relevant – this was yet another assault Police case!

I continued to deal with whatever the public called in, with no chance of a break in three days and constantly being “redeployed” to different incidents.

I have had no crewmate this entire week.

I feel like I have not helped anyone.

I do not feel like I have kept anybody safe.

I feel like I am just going through the motions and doing the bare minimum as I bounce from job to job.

I am feeling extremely deflated at the moment and I really don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Demand from the public is rising rapidly – almost as rapidly as our current resources are falling.

As you’re visiting – why not have a look at our shop? Click the image above or click here!

Tallaght in Dublin:

THIS is what happens as soon as the Police are hindered from getting around…

Don’t need the Police? Think a Lawless society would thrive? Look at this. A stolen digger is used to rip LIDL open and then they try and break open the safe with it. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the scumbags go and demolish the building. The local community must be so proud! Hope they all get jailed.

Whilst you’re visiting – why not have a look at our shop? Click the image above or clickhere!

Let’s be honest, the Police do an amazing job.

Middle of the day. Criminal armed with a crowbar smashing his way into YOUR HOUSE. You’re terrified so you call the Police.
It doesn’t matter WHAT the threat is. They just deal with it. Bloody heroes. (Hint: Don’t ever turn to face a copper brandishing a crowbar.
They won’t wait to see if you use it!)

Whilst you’re here – why not support us and take a look at our shop? Click the image above or click here!

Story care of Manchester Evening News.

A beat bobby has told how GMP is at ‘breaking point’ and struggling to answer 999 calls in a heart-felt resignation letter to Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.

Father-of-three Joseph Torkington, 37, who used to patrol Offerton in Stockport, has resigned after 12 years as a Police Constable.

The picture of him published on GMP’s website which states he is a ‘dedicated local officer’ is ‘beyond misleading, if not entirely fraudulent’, he writes before going on to argue that community policing exists in name only.

He describes a crisis where ‘response’ officers are sometimes not available for even the most serious 999 calls and how bosses ‘give out jobs to patrols that don’t exist’.

It leaves officers ‘being sent to dangerous jobs with little or no back up’ and he reveals he spent his last three years ‘in a permanent state of anxiety’.

He continues: “I’m happy to turn up to any job as long as I have colleagues with me. I’m brave, but I’m not stupid. I have three kids and a glass back, I need back up. I need that reassurance and assistance and it doesn’t exist. So Sir, it is with regret that I see no other option but to resign.”

He concedes to the Chief Constable that ‘you lead us in difficult times’ but delivers a withering judgement on the Coalition and Tory governments which have seen the force slashed from 8,200 officers to almost 6,000.

He concluded: “To the government I have nothing good to say whatsoever, they should hang their heads in shame.”

Police activity at Clayton Vale Park

Mr Torkington emailed the letter to colleagues in Stockport which was then shared on social media.

He told the M.E.N. he had been off at home since March 31 with work-related anxiety and depression.

He said: “I just felt like I needed to be honest. The chief constable needs to know in case he doesn’t know, so he understands. This is probably the biggest decision I have ever made.”

The M.E.N has approached the Home Office for a comment.

PC Torkington’s resignation letter

To Chief Constable Hopkins,

I am PC 11834 Joe Torkington. I am currently a Neighbourhood Beat Officer (NBO) based on the J Division.

I write to inform you that as of this date – Monday 28th August 2017 – I hereby give notice of my resignation from my role of Constable with Greater Manchester Police…

“When I began this role in late 2009, Neighbourhood Policing still existed. I took genuine pride in walking my beat, getting to know my community and having the responsibility for tackling any problems that came my way. I had great supervision and colleagues and felt valued and happy in my work.

“Unfortunately, as the years have passed, the role has been gradually eroded and marginalised, to the extent I have genuinely struggled at times to understand exactly what is expected of me. Despite remaining an NBO, I have increasingly done anything but Neighbourhood work, yet my photo remains on posters and the like, thus giving the community the impression that they have a dedicated local officer! I actually consider this in itself to be beyond misleading.

Indeed, I firmly believe it was this continuing deception to both staff and the public alike that gave birth to my now deep rooted mistrust of the Government and our entire organisation. Other factors followed further compounding my lack of faith and belief…Windsor (changes to terms and conditions); the Pay Freeze; the demolition of the terms and conditions of our pensions; the heavy cuts to frontline resources; the increasing bureaucracy despite constant promises for its reduction; the constant changes of systems, focus, direction, priorities, shift patterns, teams, geographical beats, policies, process, protocol, all without any apparent benefit to anyone other than those in the upper echelons of the promotion system.

“The result of the aforementioned? Plummeting morale. I can only truly speak for myself, but I am fairly certain my views are shared by the many not the few, that the Police Service is, all clichés aside, at breaking point…

“How some of my colleagues can turn up to work knowing they could be walking into a nightmare alone is beyond me. I have more than admiration for their individual and collective resilience. I would never claim to be the hardest of men, but once upon a time I could do this job well and was not afraid of confrontation. However, for the last two to three years at work, I have been in a permanent state of anxiety and stress.

“Despite what the Government says, this job is all about numbers. I’m happy to turn up to any job as long as I have colleagues with me. I’m brave, but I’m not stupid. I have three kids and a glass back, I need back up. I need that reassurance and assistance and it doesn’t exist.

“So Sir, it is with regret that I see no other option but to resign. I’d love to say I was riding off into the sunset, walking into a well-paid job etc., but I’m not. I’m going to be earning minimum wage and no doubt struggling financially, but hopefully I’ll be able to recover from my anxiety and depression away from what Policing has become.

“I wish all my colleagues of every rank I leave behind, all the luck in the world and they will always have my upmost respect. I nod in respect to you to Sir, I know you lead us in difficult times and I imagine with many constraints and restrictions placed upon you.

To the government I have nothing good to say whatsoever, they should hang their heads in shame.

As for me…what can I say…I am more than a number.”

GMP’s response to PC Torkington

Ian Pilling

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: “GMP continues to provide the best service it can to the public whilst facing challenging times with less funding, fewer resources and increasing demand. Sadly, this is a challenge faced by police forces nationally.

“It is always regrettable when someone chooses to leave the police service under circumstances such as this. Being a police officer is a difficult job and this is particularly the case in a busy force such as GMP where the complexities create unique demands for our officers and staff, who do a fantastic job day in and day out.

“Despite these challenges, only a small number of officers leave each year through resignation. That said, I understand and accept PC Torkington’s decision.

“We wish him the best of luck for the future. On behalf of GMP and all those who worked with Joe, I would like to thank him for his dedicated service over the past years.”

Whilst you’re here – why not support us and take a look at our shop? Click the image above or click here!

Archived Posts

Monday, 21 January 2019 Two males have been charged with the robbery of a pensioner in Bradford city centre on Boxing Day. The males, aged 16 and 21, were identified following an appeal for information about the incident in Dale Street. West Yorkshire Police would like to thank everyone who shared our appeal or called […]

Police are concerned for the welfare of 38 year old Adam Dickinson-Knight. He was last seen walking in the Sancreed area of West Cornwall at 5.30pm on Sunday 20th January. Mr Dickinson-Wright is known to travel long distances on foot. Adam is described as a white male of a medium/athletic build with reddish-brown curly hair […]